Toto Wolff outlines how to fix F1 and insists it will take more than ‘just replacing the race director’

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Formula 1 needs to implement more changes than just “replacing the race director”.

The sport has been put under a microscope due to the controversial circumstances of the conclusion of the 2021 season. Lewis Hamilton was overtaken in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by Max Verstappen after some cars were told to unlap themselves by race director Michael Masi.

Fans and some drivers hit out at the decision and it’s caused many to call for change in the sport.

“It’s a bigger problem, my values ​​are simply not compatible with the decisions that were made,” said Wolff per the Spanish branch of Motorsport.com.

“It is not just about replacing the race director. The whole decision-making system must be improved. It’s one thing to drive hard and have different points of view between drivers and teams, that’s normal. But inconsistent decisions inevitably lead to controversy, much of it totally unnecessary.”

Wolff did concede that throughout the season Mercedes had been “luckier” when it came to some decisions made by officials.

But he added: “But this last decision had the biggest impact, and from a sports perspective, it was catastrophic because it decided the World Championship.”